Jump Routine

How to Measure Your Vertical

Jump
As the saying goes, You cant improve what you cant
measure.
The rst step on your journey to increasing your vertical
jump is to get a starting point of where your currently at
so that you can track your progress.
Heres how to do it;
Things youll need: Another friend to help you, a ladder,
and either a permanent marker or chalk.
1. Find a wall or pole tall enough that when you jump
you cannot touch the top.
2. Stand next to the pole or wall and extend your arm as
high as you can above your head. This is your standing
reach. Have your friend mark your standing reach with
either a piece of chalk or a permanent marker.
3. Now from a standing start, jump and touch as high up
the wall or pole as you possibly can. Youll need your
friend to watch and see where you touch so that theres
no confusion. Get your friend to climb the ladder and
mark where you were able to reach on the wall.
4. Measure the distance between your standing reach
and your jumping reach. This is your current vertical
jump.

Important Information on the

Coach Mac Vertical Jump

Program

Warming Up
By reading my previous article on stretching, youll learn
that it is important to warm-up your muscles rst before
stretching or performing any strenuous physical activity.
I recommend jumping rope for a couple of minutes to
warm-up and increase the blood ow to your muscles.

Phases

The program is broken up into three different phases

consisting of four weeks each. This is because as you
continue through the program your muscles will adapt
to the intensity of the workout, therefore we need to
keep increasing the workload in order to continue
increasing your vertical jump.

Frequency

Perform the routine every second day to give your body

a days rest in-between workouts. This means that on
week one youll be training 4 times a week, week two
youll be training 3 times per week, and on week three
youll be training 4 times per week. That ends up being
11 workouts per phase for a total of 33 workouts in the
program. Also, during this program you will be taking
one week off between each phase to let your body
completely recover. You need to give your muscles time
to fully repair in order to grow stronger and more
explosive.

Rest Intervals
One minute rest in-between all sets. If you can, try to
keep a stop watch with you when youre doing these
workouts. If you dont have one my players have found it

convenient to use the stop watches located on their

mobile phones.

Record Your Progress

Keep track of how much progress youve made at the end

of each rest week. Its going to be hard for your players,
but stress that if they really want to see results its best
that they wait until the end of the rest week. We know
how hard it is for players to be patient!

Exercises:
If you have any trouble understanding my descriptions
of the exercises, YouTube them to watch a video of the
exercise being performed.
Jumping Rope A skipping rope is the only piece of
equipment involved in the program. If you dont have
one a piece of rope will do just ne. If you dont have a
piece of rope either jumping up and down on the spot
without much bending in the knees will achieve a similar
result. Jumping rope involves holding a rope with both
hands and swinging it around your body continuously.
4-Corners Involves you imagining 4 dots in a square
shape about 15 20 inches apart. To complete 4-corners
you hop around the square in a clockwise direction
landing on each dot for the required number of
repetitions. 4 jumps and completing the square equals
one repetition.
Single-Leg 4-Corners Exactly the same as 4Corners except performed on one leg.
Slow-Motion Squats Involves standing with your
feet shoulder width apart. From this position slowly
lower down until you are in a deep squat making sure
your heels are at on the ground. Hold for 2 seconds
before slowly rising back to the starting position. The

descent and rise should each take 4 seconds to complete.

Throughout the entire exercise make sure to keep your
head up and your back straight.
Tuck Jumps Tuck jumps involve descending into a
comfortable squat and then jumping as high as possible
and bringing your knees to your chest.
High-Reach Jumps Are similar to tuck jumps, but
instead of brining your knees to your chest, you just
reach as high as you can. This is done best under a
basketball ring or near a wall so that you can tell how
much lower your reach becomes as you fatigue. Try to
reach the same height through all repetitions. if you
dont have anything to measure against, thats ne. Just
jump as high as you can each repetition.
Lateral Jumps Lateral jumps are performed best
with over a line or a stick. They involve standing parallel
to the line on one side and then quickly jumping
sideways back-and-forth over the line. Over and back
equals one repetition.
Single-Leg Lateral Jumps Exactly the same as
lateral jumps except performed on one leg.
Alternating Lunge Jumps From a normal standing
position, take one step forward with your right foot and
one step backwards with your left foot. This is your
starting position. From this position, jump as high as
you can in the air and switch leg positions.
Straight Leg Calf Jumps Without bending your
knees, jump up and down in the same spot. You wont
get very high off the ground and it will be the ankle
doing all the movement which will work the calf muscle.
Toe Raises Stand regularly, then raise up onto the
tips of your toes. Lower back down. Dont rock up and
down, do it slowly (not too slowly) but steadily. This is
improved by using stairs if you have access to them.

Alright, enough talk. Heres the program youve all been

waiting for.

Coach Mac Vertical Jump

Program
Phase 1 Weeks 1 3

1. Jumping Rope 2 minutes.

2. Stretching
3. Jumping Rope 2 minutes.
4. Slow Motion Squats 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
5. Lateral Jumps 3 sets of 20 repetitions.
6. Alternating Jump Lunges 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
7. Tuck Jumps 3 sets of 8 repetitions.
8. Toe Raises 3 sets of 20 repetitions.
Week 4 Rest.

Phase 2 Weeks 5 7
1. Jumping Rope 2 minutes.
2. Stretching
3. Jumping Rope 3 minutes.
4. Slow Motion Squats 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
5. 4-Corners 3 sets of 12 repetitions.
6. Single-Leg Lateral Jumps 3 sets of 15 repetitions.
7. Alternating Jump Lunges 3 sets of 15 repetitions.
8. High Reach Jumps 3 sets of 8 repetitions.
9. Straight-Leg Calf Jumps 3 sets of 30 repetitions.
Week 8 Rest.

Phase 3 Weeks 9 11

1. Jumping Rope 2 minutes.

2. Stretching
3. Jumping Rope 4 minutes.
4. Slow Motions Squats 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
5. Single-Leg 4-Corners 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
6. Single-Leg Lateral Jumps 3 sets of 20 repetitions.
7. Alternating Jump Lunges 3 sets of 20 repetitions.
8. Tuck Jumps 3 sets of 8 repetitions.
9. Straight-Leg Calf Jumps 3 sets of 40 repetitions.
Week 12 Rest.